Linear dichroism

Linear dichroism (LD) is a spectroscopic technique used to study the orientation of molecules in a sample by measuring the difference in absorbance of light polarized in different directions. It is particularly useful for analyzing macromolecules like proteins, nucleic acids, and some types of polymers. In a typical LD experiment, a sample is illuminated with linearly polarized light, and the absorbance is measured for two orthogonal polarization directions (usually parallel and perpendicular to a particular molecular axis).